title: Assessment of aortic atheromatous plaque and stiffness by 64-slice computed tomography is useful for identifying patients with coronary artery disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With multislice computed tomography (MSCT) it is possible to visualize the coronary arteries, as well as the aorta, in a single computed tomography scan. Using MSCT, atherosis and sclerosis of the descending thoracic aorta (DTA) were quantified and differences between patients with and without coronary artery disease (CAD) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The population comprised 89 patients who underwent ECG-gated MSCT: 40 patients with suspected CAD by MSCT underwent invasive coronary angiography, and had documented significant stenoses (CAD group), 49 patients did not have significant stenoses (control group). Twenty cross-sectional images of DTA were reconstructed every 5% (0-95%) of the RR interval, and the largest and smallest luminal areas were traced. Atheromatous score and stiffness beta of DTA were quantified; both were significantly higher in the CAD group than in the controls. Multivariate analysis revealed that the average atheromatous score was an independent factor associated with CAD (p<0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that atherosis and sclerosis of DTA are associated with CAD. In cases with image quality that is unsatisfactory for interpretation of coronary stenoses, additional assessment of atherosclerosis of the DTA will be useful for identifying patients with CAD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuhiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.forename: Shoichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ehara
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shirai
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugioka
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: Takahiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Naruko
authors.forename: Toshihide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hozumi
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshiyama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001018:Aortic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D001027:Aortography / Q000379:methods*; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003187:Compliance; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D023921:Coronary Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed